The Church God Planted | The Church Week 1
Despite the spiritual climate of our day, this is what is still possible for the Church – for our church – because of God and Pentecost.
Steve DeNeff August 31, 2025
Despite the spiritual climate of our day, this is what is still possible for the Church – for our church – because of God and Pentecost.
For years, we have prayed for revival, for another Pentecost. But the secret of Pentecost is not the number (120) who were “filled with the Spirit,” but those who learned to “walk in the Spirit” afterward. This is what it
If the secret of Pentecost is 120 people learning to walk daily in the Spirit, what are the quiet, unseen habits of those people? What do they do in private that prepares them for the public demonstration?
Our cultural moment is determined either to keep faith “personal and private,” OR to militarize our faith, bludgeoning others with our arguments. The apostles give us a third way: refusing to compartmentalize or weaponize, they instead, “spoke as the Spirit
Those who walk in the Spirit live in the flow of conversations with God about what they are working on together. More than praying with the mouth or from their heart, they pray in the Spirit and with impressive results.
For years the Church has been “the most segregated hour all week,” but slowly things are changing. As we become more integrated, does anyone have a vision for something beyond diversity? What does the Holy Spirit want diversity for? What
Growth brings complexity and complexity strangles growth. That is the paradox confronting every church that grows. How do Spirit-animated churches, like ours, protect the mission from the threat of success? How do they find their leaders? And what do they
When Spirit-animated people (or churches) make decisions, they discern more than decide. They have assumptions, they follow practices that others simply lack. What are they? And how do we practice them today? We need a model for making decisions that
Abiding in Christ is the source of all true courage. In Acts 4, Peter and John show that when believers draw their strength from Jesus, they can face anything. The Spirit who once empowered them now empowers us to live
In the Church that God planted there is a conspicuous absence of heroes. Every member is active. Everyone plays a part, each one doing what seems natural (like common sense) to them, but together they accomplish what no hero ever
Good news is only good for those who benefit from its “goodness.” As believers it’s important that we properly define and distribute the powerful “Good News” of the Gospel!
The book of Acts reveals a process of “rediscovering” God (through the new realities of the Work of Christ and the Gift of the Spirit). The sermon will be preached to a “curious attender” who has come to learn more